Many medical devices require a power source to function properly. In some cases, medical devices may be plugged into a wall outlet to receive power. However, tethering a medical device to a wall outlet may be cumbersome or difficult to maneuver for the user. In other scenarios, medical devices may be connected to an intermediate power supply or other piece of capital equipment located between the medical device and a wall outlet. Using such an intermediate power source may also be cumbersome and difficult. Furthermore, in many situations, such medical devices must remain sterile; otherwise a patient may be susceptible to infection or other contamination from being exposed to a non-sterile device. Battery packs could be used with such medical devices. However, such battery packs may be non-sterile. Thus, using a battery could pose increased risks to a patient. In the event that a non-sterile battery is used, the non-sterile medical device may ultimately become exposed to the battery, which may compromise the sterility of the medical device for use with a patient. In short, using a non-sterile power source with a sterile medical device may pose a variety of risks.
Merely exemplary devices that rely on electrical power are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,176, entitled “Electrosurgical Systems and Techniques for Sealing Tissue,” issued Dec. 31, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,101, entitled “Motor-Driven Surgical Cutting and Fastening Instrument with Loading Force Feedback,” issued Aug. 26, 2008; U.S. Pat. No. 7,738,971, entitled “Post-Sterilization Programming of Surgical Instruments,” issued Jun. 15, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0209990, entitled “Motorized Surgical Cutting and Fastening Instrument Having Handle Based Power Source,” published Aug. 20, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,657,174); U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0079874, entitled “Tissue Pad for Use with an Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument,” published Apr. 13, 2006 (now abandoned); U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0191713, entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting and Coagulating,” published Aug. 16, 2007 (now abandoned); U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0282333, entitled “Ultrasonic Waveguide and Blade,” published Dec. 6, 2007 (now abandoned); U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940, entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting and Coagulating,” published Aug. 21, 2008 (now abandoned). The disclosure of each of the above-cited U.S. patents and U.S. patent Application Publications is incorporated by reference herein.
While several systems and methods have been made for use with an electrically powered medical device, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.